A Father and a Father-in-Law

The following morning.

The count’s study at Librata manor.

I met with him alone before setting out for the marquis’s estate.

“Rigen. Take this with you.”

“This is……”

The count held out a sword.

The scabbard was clean and simple, worn smooth by the passage of years.

I drew it partway out and found nothing remarkable about it — no enchantments, no special properties.

A plain blade. Sharp, well-kept, and nothing more.

If I channeled magic into it, it would shatter.

The count explained.

“This was the sword House Librata carried to the front lines alongside the first emperor.”

“I see……”

A blade that had stood on those battlefields — the battlefields against the Seven Sin God.

The memory surfaced on its own, and I stood quietly with it. Then the count spoke.

“Since that day, House Librata has kept a tradition. When a child comes of age and sets out for the first time on something of real consequence, this sword is given to them. My grandfather gave it to my father. My father gave it to me. And I have already given it to Roderic once before.”

“……”

So it was returned afterward?

I listened without interrupting, and the count continued.

“Do you understand? The tradition is whoever receives that sword comes home safely. The blade may be bloodied, or it may not. But the one who carries it out must be the one to bring it back.”

“……”

Whoever receives this sword, child — simply return alive.

A tradition carrying a parent’s deepest wish.

The words slipped out before I could stop them.

“Aren’t you going to tell me not to go? That it’s dangerous, that I should drop this whole business, the engagement, the confrontation, all of it? And come to think of it, you never asked me anything after you gave me the mana potion, either.”

Whether I had truly awakened. Whether I could actually use magic.

The count had never checked.

He knelt slightly to buckle the sword belt at my waist and spoke without looking up.

“Rigen. None of that matters.”

“Pardon?”

“I know that you never gave up, even when you had no magic. I know you spent all that time quietly sharpening yourself where no one could see. So I’ve been watching, and I’ve been listening.”

His face was turned down toward the buckle. I couldn’t read his expression.

“The you of today is better than the you of yesterday. The you of tomorrow will be someone different still. What more is there for me to say?”

“……”

“There comes a time when a child must leave their parent’s side. My part is simply to fasten this sword at your hip and wait, trusting that you’ll come back.”

Quiet words. Warm ones.

He was a father, sending his child off.

The aura emanating from the count was blue.

The color that meant he trusted me — deeply, fully.

“……”

It was time to absorb it.

I lifted my hand slightly, and the mental energy flowing from him washed into me.

A fullness settled through my body, richer than before.

My telekinesis had grown stronger.

At this rate, I might be able to unlock the next psychic ability before long.

“Hm.”

I was about to lower my hand when I stopped.

This man, calmly fastening my sword belt without a word.

A sudden, unexpected urge rose in me — to pull him close, just for a moment, and let him know that everything was all right.

“……”

The feeling was there. My hands weren’t.

I had done exactly this as emperor, more times than I could count — and yet somehow, now, I couldn’t quite make myself move.

By the time I hesitated, the count had already finished. He stepped back.

“There. Look at you.”

He studied me with quiet satisfaction.

“You’re my own child, so I’m biased, but you really are striking, Rigen.”

“What use is a man being striking?”

“Better than being less so, wouldn’t you say?”

The count smiled.

“I heard you put Dominic in his place. Well done.”

“In that case, I’ll go put the marquis in his place too, in your honor.”

I caught it only because I was looking closely — the faint glisten at the corner of the count’s eyes.

The right thing to do was not to notice.

And then, late afternoon.

A hill with a vast estate visible in the distance.

I reined in my horse and said,

“Let’s stop and eat here.”

I dismounted as I spoke, and Garul followed immediately.

Then Heinkel. Then, last of all, Roderic.

I retrieved a basket and a rolled mat from the saddlebag and spread the mat beneath the shade of a nearby tree. A simple resting spot.

I set the basket down and sat. The others gathered around me.

Well — everyone except Roderic, who remained standing.

“Did you catch a disease that kills you if you sit? Here, this is called sitting cross-legged. Quite comfortable.”

“Why did you send Dominic ahead?”

What held Roderic’s attention was the estate in the distance — Burzak’s estate. Figures could be seen moving hurriedly about.

Dominic, whom we had brought along and sent in ahead of us, appeared to have arrived.

“Missing him already?”

“Spare me the… the childish remarks. Answer the question.”

“Tell me why you followed along, and I’ll tell you why I sent him ahead.”

“……”

Our eyes met.

Roderic, the firstborn of House Librata, had never thought much of Rigen, the youngest. There were reasons for that, of course — Roderic’s reasons — but even so.

“You’re riding all the way to collect money from Marquis Burzak. I can’t imagine it’s because you want a share of it. So why?”

“……First, to deliver a firm warning to Marquis Burzak.”

“And?”

“And Burzak may not hand over the money without a fight.”

Roderic’s gaze dropped to the sword at my hip.

He had worn this same sword once, setting out on a day of his own.

He spoke quietly.

“Burzak looks down on our house. Your victory was satisfying, true. But the marquis could still send his knights and soldiers after you.”

“Hey, Garul. My brother just said he followed us out of concern for me. What do you make of that? Think it’s true?”

I asked without warning. Garul only blinked.

Silence.

The face of a man caught squarely between his lord’s eldest son and his young master, with no safe direction to look.

I pressed a hand to Garul’s shoulder and whispered,

“Out of the two of us — which one is more handsome, me or my brother?”

“……I, I couldn’t possibly say!”

“Can’t give a straight answer, can you? Sounds like a promising career as a knight.”

Roderic’s expression curdled at the exchange. Then he pressed on, forcing the words out.

“……And because I don’t know what trouble you’ll get yourself into. A leaky bucket at home doesn’t suddenly hold water outside!”

“So the nagging travels with us. Noted.”

“Rigen! You may be the youngest, but you are the count’s son! Every word and action you take reflects on House Librata’s……”

I ignored him and opened the basket.

I pulled out a sandwich and took the first bite.

The crisp vegetables, the mayonnaise, the soft give of the bread.

I chewed through the chicken — golden-brown and perfectly cooked — and a sweet burst of sauce hit the back of my tongue.

“Mm. Perfect!”

“Rigen, I’m being serious……”

“Lecture me over food. Here, Garul, you too.”

I handed sandwiches to Garul and Roderic.

Then I glanced over at Heinkel, who had settled a short distance away.

“Hey. Come eat with us.”

“I’m technically affiliated with the marquis’s side. Is it really all right for me to join you?”

“Feeding someone who traveled with us and then leaving them out is the more irritating option.”

Don’t treat people as less than human over food.

That had been one of my convictions as supreme commander of the imperial forces — and as emperor.

Before I built the empire, people dying of starvation had been anything but uncommon.

Four men sat in a row and ate their sandwiches together.

“……This is good.”

“It really is.”

Garul and Heinkel murmured their appreciation. Roderic gave a dignified nod.

“Did Amelia make these?”

“She did. Said she’d been up since before dawn preparing them specially.”

“Whatever else, don’t worry her. Not her.”

“I know.”

Amelia, who had raised all of the count’s children. To Roderic, the eldest, she meant something particular as well.

The corner of Roderic’s mouth had softened in a way it rarely did as he ate.

Oh.

This is happiness.

I paused mid-bite.

A mat on the grass beneath open sky. Trading jokes, talking freely, eating something made with care.

Such a small thing — and yet it was too much.

As emperor, I had eaten food far finer than this every single day. I had summoned the greatest performers in the empire to entertain me.

But this moment was better.

The sandwich made for me tasted better than it had any right to. The eldest’s grumbling grated on me less than it should have.

And the plain sword hanging at my hip felt, impossibly, like the most reassuring thing I owned.

“……Ah. Is that it?”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing. Never mind.”

The reason I had wanted to retire. The reason I had wanted rest.

The reason this felt like happiness.

I thought I understood it a little better now — though I had no particular interest in putting it into words.

I set the sentiment aside and brought things back to the matter at hand.

“As for why I sent Dominic ahead, explaining everything to the marquis myself would be tedious. Dominic will have blurted out every last detail long before we arrive.”

“You really did it just for that reason……”

“And also, if Dominic coming to provoke me was something Marquis Burzak arranged……”

I cut Roderic off and looked at Heinkel.

“Then if the marquis had further plans in motion, he’ll be scrambling to revise them right about now.”

“Further plans?”

“A scheme to have House Librata expelled from the twelve houses, apparently.”

“……”

Roderic’s eyes went wide.

I smiled and held out a water flask.

“Drink something while you eat.”

“……What do you intend to do about it?”

“I’m not sure yet. I don’t even know what method he’s planning to use.”

“That’s right. It’s the first emperor’s dying will. What could anyone do to get around that?”

Roderic shook his head, unable to believe it.

I asked directly.

“Let me ask you something honestly. What does it mean, the word that your chances of becoming emperor are slim?”

“……”

It was the kind of thing Garul already knew, which meant it had spread widely enough to be common knowledge.

I pressed on, keeping my voice even.

“I’m asking because I genuinely don’t understand how things stand. House Librata is said to be the weakest of the twelve.”

I glanced at Garul and Heinkel. Reading the signal, both moved to rise — but Roderic waved them back down.

“It’s not a secret. Everyone already knows. Last year’s trip to the capital, I made a serious error.”

The trip to the capital.

The gathering held each year among the twelve houses as they competed to produce the empire’s second emperor.

Roderic would have made that journey the previous year as well.

I pieced together what I knew.

“So you committed a grave mistake, had slim odds to begin with, and now those odds are effectively zero. And that’s opened the door to a scheme to drive House Librata out of the twelve houses entirely?”

“Yes. All of it is……”

“I don’t think it’s your fault.”

I shook my head.

“The other eleven houses have no reason to pull something like this. As far as they’re concerned, one fewer competitor is simply convenient — they have no incentive to introduce a new one.”

“……”

Roderic’s expression shifted. Surprised.

I said it plainly.

“Whoever is behind this wants to take our place among the twelve by removing us. That means it’s a noble house currently outside the twelve. Someone who’s been watching for an opening from the start. Even if your visit to the capital had gone perfectly, they would have found another excuse eventually.”

“……Are you trying to comfort me?”

“I prefer to save it for later, actually.”

It came out without much thought behind it. Roderic looked absolutely stricken — the expression of a man who had been on the verge of genuine feeling and then stepped in something foul.

I laughed.

“Life’s hard enough. If I can’t at least make bad jokes, I’ll never survive it.”

“……Haaaah.”

Roderic had been drawing breath to explode, but he shut his mouth instead.

He looked at me steadily. Seriously.

“Rigen. I know there’s no love lost between us. I know I never made things easy for you, and I had my reasons, but I also tried to put you in your place more than once. If you want to settle that score, I’ll give you the chance. Later, properly.”

“My face is already going red.”

“……Listen to me seriously.”

Roderic said it with an urgency that was almost raw.

“The way you handled Dominic, it was brilliant, and I mean that. But if what you’re saying is true, if Marquis Burzak’s scheme runs this deep, walking in there isn’t something to take lightly. We should go back to Father and……”

“By then it will be too late.”

I laid it out simply.

“I don’t know exactly what he’s planning. What I do know is that he’s stronger than our house. We can’t give him time to regroup. His son just lost badly, and he’s off-balance. We hit him now, while he’s still reeling. Give him time to recover and we lose the advantage.”

“……”

“Don’t worry about safety. At the very least, the marquis won’t move against me before he’s paid.”

I tipped my head toward Heinkel.

As long as Heinkel was present as notary, the marquis wouldn’t dare act rashly.

Roderic sat with it for a long moment, then let out a slow, heavy breath.

“……All right. Fine. If you’ve already thought this through and put all these safeguards in place, I won’t press further. I’ll stay back and let you lead. But……”

He faltered.

Whatever he was trying to say, he was taking his time getting there.

Roderic looked out at a patch of grass somewhere in the distance and spoke.

“……If it gets to be too much, I’ll step in.”

“Hey, Garul. Honestly, who’s more handsome?”

“……Rigen!”

Either way, the meal was done.

Time to move.

Let’s go collect our money.

The Burzak estate.

As we drew near, a great deal of noise was already carrying from inside.

The soldiers standing guard at the garden gate spotted our group and snapped to attention, leveling their spears.

Heinkel stepped forward.

“We’re here to see the marquis. Stand aside.”

“That……”

They had witnessed it firsthand — Dominic arriving, and the state he’d arrived in.

The guards wavered. Then, without a word, they stepped to the side.

They had no desire to test themselves against a dark elf warrior.

Clip-clop. Clip-clop.

I rode forward alongside Heinkel and called back over my shoulder.

“Freepass wherever you go. Must be nice.”

“Haha, feel free to call on me any time, Young Master.”

“Get away from me. I’ve dealt with enough smooth-talking swindlers.”

I rode on with Garul and Roderic following Heinkel’s lead through the garden path.

Soon the main building of the estate came into view.

Dominic was on the ground.

Servants were rushing around him, frantically tending to him.

Nearby, pacing in tight, anxious circles, was a heavyset man.

He spotted Heinkel and bellowed.

“H, Heinkel! Where in the world have you been!”

“I’ve brought guests, my lord. Marquis Burzak.”

I studied him quietly, with some surprise.

This sweating, frantic man was Marquis Burzak?

In my time as emperor, I had observed every manner of person.

The marquis was standing beside his fallen son, unable to keep still — composure entirely gone.

Small-minded.

“A man like this was behind all of this scheming?”

“Small minds can still do small evil, can’t they?”

Garul responded to what I’d muttered half to myself.

“True, but they can’t manage anything on a large scale.”

Marquis Burzak couldn’t be the architect of a plot to have House Librata expelled from the twelve houses. The ambition was simply too large for the vessel.

The evidence was right in front of me — standing in the open and speaking frankly, and the marquis couldn’t even tell who we were. He was too busy deciding whether Heinkel’s escort made us safe to approach or not.

Then, without warning —

“……Y, you! You’re Roderic Librata! Soldiers! Bring the soldiers here!”

He finally placed Roderic’s face and lurched into a panic.

The crowd that had gathered to watch Dominic parted as soldiers came running with spears. A moment later, armored knights appeared as well.

Heinkel glanced at me.

I’ll handle this — that was what the look said.

I was about to nod when a figure stepped out from the crowd.

A tall man. Eyes that were unusually sharp, even from a distance.

A human male.

“Marquis Burzak. What is the meaning of this commotion?”

“Ma, Marquis Crocell! The Libratas — they’ve come here and done this to my son——!”

Even as Burzak carried on, the man who had stepped forward — Marquis Crocell — surveyed the four of us with calm, unhurried eyes.

His gaze reached mine.

A silence.

Then Crocell smiled, wide and easy.

“Haha. Of all places to meet. Hello, Rigen.”

“Small world, isn’t it. Good to see you, Marquis Crocell.”

I returned the smile.

But I had already understood.

The man who had set all of this in motion — every piece of it.

That was Marquis Crocell.

The father of a fiancée I’ve never even laid eyes on was the one pulling the strings.

People. This is precisely why you should never get married.